MEQUON, Wis. – The Edgewood College women's basketball team rallied back from a deep hole in the second half, but Concordia University Wisconsin held them off to send the Eagles to their third straight defeat. The Eagles trailed by 18 points with 17 minutes to play, but cut the margin to as few as three points. Rachel Pope led Edgewood College with 21 points on the night.
Edgewood College (1-5, 1-2 NACC) only led once at 2-0 after a Pope layup to open the game, but were still close, trailing 26-22 after a Zoey Dougherty free throw with 5:55 left in the first half. The Eagles struggled to shoot just 29 percent in the first half, but stayed close by hitting 10 free throws. However, the Falcons exploded for a 15-2 run to open a 17-point lead in the final minute of the half. Pope closed the first half with two buckets, but the Eagles still trailed 41-28 at the break.
Concordia University Wisconsin (4-1, 2-1 NACC) pushed their lead to 48-30 with a 7-2 run to start the second half, before Edgewood College would begin to reel them in. Pope hit a three-point basket followed by Hannah Menzia who peeled off seven of the Eagles' next nine points with Sammy Gander adding a layup in the run. After a Marissa Hoyer layup Mariah Hill connected from long distance. After another Pope jump shot and an inside bucket by Menzia, the Eagles had completed a 22-7 run in less than nine minutes to trail just 55-52.
However a three-point play and another free throw from the Falcons' Megan Coenen pushed CUW's lead back to seven points. The Falcons would lead by 10 down the stretch before Pope scored Edgewood College's final three field goals of the night.
Pope scored 21 points on 10-for-20 shooting for her second 20-point game of the season and fifth of her career. Hill hit a pair of three-point shots and ended the night with 13 points. Menzia posted a season-high with 10 points. Gander pulled down a career-high nine rebounds to lead the Eagles. Her previous career-high was four boards. Sierra Jiran had eight rebounds off the bench, while Ellyn Haden added seven boards. The Eagles shot 47.2 percent in the second half to finish at 38.8 percent for the game.
Megan Landgraf scored 19 points to lead Concordia University Wisconsin, while Audrey Scharmer had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Coenen tallied 14 points. The Falcons shot 41.7 percent from the field and outscored the Eagles 19-12 at the free throw line.
Edgewood College will try to regroup at home on Saturday. The Eagles will entertain Concordia University Chicago who will enter the game with a perfect 3-0 record in the NACC. Tipoff time is 2:00 p.m. with live coverage available on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com.
